The present invention relates generally to shipping cartons, and more particularly, to a load bearing carton sleeve with an interlock that facilitates ease of assembly and structural integrity of the shipping carton in final shipping form.
PTVs or xe2x80x9cbig screenxe2x80x9d TVs are a popular alternative to picture tube TVs because they provide comparably larger viewable screens that cannot be efficiently produced using conventional picture tubes. The size of the screens typically range from about 45 to about 73 inches along their diagonal, while the enclosures typically range from about 48 inches to over 65 inches in height, from about 38 inches to over 65 inches in width, and from about 22 inches to over 29 inches in depth. The typical weight of big screen TVs ranges from about 165 pounds for the smallest PTVs to over 440 pounds for some of the largest PTVs.
Conventional packaging for PTVs and other products of similar size and weight, includes a tray into which the product is set, a cover which fits on top of the product, and a sleeve which slides over the top of the cover, product and tray assembly. The sleeve, cover and tray are typically formed from corrugated cardboard. Once in place, a pair of packaging bands extend about the sleeve and tray to hold the carton assembly together. Because of the size and weight of the PTVs, the tray usually includes a port to allow the assembled package to be moved and stored using a forklift or some other lifting apparatus. To allow passage of forklift tines into the forklift port, the sleeve is positioned above the port. In this arrangement, the corrugate sleeve does not carry any vertical loads resulting when the packages are stacked atop of one another in warehouses. The sleeve merely acts as a dust and scuff shield. The PTVs, or other packaged products, end up carrying all of the vertical loads applied to the packages, which typically occurs when the loaded cartons are stacked in warehouses and, as a result, run the risk of being damage.
Other disadvantages of this package assembly include an overall lack of structural integrity and lack of ease of assembly due to the sleeve not being firmly attached to the product, tray and cover assembly.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a shipping carton for PTVs, and other products of similar size and weight, that is capable of carrying a vertical load and that facilitates overall structural integrity and ease of assembly of the package.
The present invention is directed to a load bearing shipping carton with a sleeve interlock that facilitates ease of assembly and structural integrity of the shipping carton assembly. The carton assembly includes a tray into which a product to be packaged is set, a cover which fits on top of the product, and a sleeve which slides over the top of the cover, product and tray assembly. The tray includes a forklift port sized to receive the tines of a forklift or some other lifting apparatus. In a particularly innovative aspect of the invention, the sleeve preferably includes a pair of flaps that fold into the forklift port and side walls that extend to or nearly to the bottom of the tray.
In another innovative aspect of the invention, the flaps are sized to match the forklift port and, when folded into position in the forklift port, the flaps increase the structural integrity of the forklift port and more securely attache the sleeve to the tray to increase the overall structural integrity of the carton assembly.
In yet another innovative aspect of the invention, the top of the flap is scored allowing the flap to be automatically folded into the forklift port when the carton assembly is banded together thereby helping the sleeve to be more easily fitted to the underlying packaging assembly.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent from consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.